


First Love

by niteryde



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27541654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niteryde/pseuds/niteryde
Summary: Young and in love for the first time, Bra makes a life-changing decision against the wishes of her parents, but things don't quite go according to plan. One shot.
Relationships: Bra Briefs & Vegeta, Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Comments: 3
Kudos: 48





	First Love

Trunks stared at his younger sister while he sat in her bedroom, stunned beyond words. He was blinking slowly at her, massaging his temple with two fingers. The siblings were close, to the point where each considered the other one of their best friends. Too many times to count, they had both covered for the other to avoid getting into trouble with their parents, especially when they had lived together. Trunks had long since moved out and started a family of his own, but he was always there for his little sister. As such, he hadn't hesitated when she contacted him and asked him to come over immediately.

But nothing had quite prepared him for this.

"…Excuse me?" he finally asked, certain that he had misunderstood. He lowered his hand and leaned forward, studying her intently. "You're going to do _what_?"

"You heard me," Bra listlessly answered, not sparing her brother a glance. She was pacing relentlessly back and forth, her arms folded in front of her.

"And…Mom and Dad are okay with this decision?" Trunks questioned. Bra stayed silent, though her pacing anxiously increased. Trunks snorted in laughter, but it was from bewilderment. He shook his head, running his hand through his lavender hair. "Shit. You haven't even told them, have you?"

"You know what they're going to say, Trunks," Bra countered, finally turning to her brother as she rested her hands on her hips. "They're going to flip out and say no. Ugh, especially Dad! So screw it, you know? I'll just tell them when it's over-"

"Oh no you're not," Trunks interrupted as he stood up. "You aren't going to do this behind their backs, Bra. If this is what you want to do, then you better fess up and tell them the truth."

She almost whined, "But Trunks-!"

"But nothing! This is crazy, Bra!" Trunks shot back. "You've been dating this guy for how long? Four months?"

"Six months," Bra grumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "That's long enough-"

"To get _married_?"

"Look, he loves me. He loves me, Trunks, and I love him. I'm eighteen years old now, and I can do what I want! I'm going to do this whether you're for it or against it, so please stand with me on this." Trunks just shook his head, looking away as his sister walked up to him. "Trunks, please. Mom and Dad are going to flip, and I need someone on my side."

"I don't know if I'm on your side for this one. You're too young for marriage, Bra. I don't see why-" Trunks suddenly looked back at his little sister, his eyes widening in alarm. "You're not knocked up, are you?" he asked, his gaze shifting down to her stomach.

"No!" Bra shot out. She uncomfortably shifted at the idea, scowling at her brother's insinuation. "We haven't yet, you know…"

"Oh. Well, good," Trunks sighed in relief. He looked back at his sister and recognized that look of determination. Stubbornness was a quality inherent in each of their parents, but Bra had inherited enough to last for generations. She wasn't going to bend, and so he had to. In defeat, he added, "Look, this is what we're going to do. _You_ are going to talk to Mom and Dad tonight. And tomorrow night, Goten and I are going to have a little chat with this guy. If I like what I hear, then I'll help you out with Mom and Dad. Because you're going to need all the help you can get."

Bra brushed her blue bangs out of her face, huffing in frustration. "But Dad's never liked Adam, and I think Mom just kinda deals with him to be nice. Telling them is a really bad idea, Trunks."

"No," he corrected. "Running off and doing this behind their backs is a bad idea. Trust me, Dad will skin him alive if you do that. If you want Adam to keep breathing, I strongly, _strongly_ suggest you don't blindside Dad on this one. Not to mention, Mom will be hurt if you do this behind her back. So just tell them upfront, no matter how bad it goes."

"I hate when you make sense."

Trunks put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in comfort. "I have to go back to work. Good luck. You're going to need it."

"Aren't you going to stay?" Bra whined. "I might need you for protection, you know!"

"Protection? From who?" Trunks snorted. "Dad's never put his hands on _his baby girl_ , not even when you were three years old and you painted all over his face when he was passed out from training. You have it so much easier with him than I ever did, so stop being a chickenshit and tell him and Mom!"

"Fine, I will! I'll tell them both tonight when they get back home," Bra said with the utmost confidence.

"Hn. Text me afterwards so I know you're still alive," Trunks teased with a smirk. Bra hit him on the arm as he walked out of her bedroom altogether. "Good luck!" he called out, before she heard him jogging downstairs.

Bra sighed as she sat down at the side of her bed. Looking over at her nightstand, she picked up a strip of photos she took with her boyfriend. She had met him a semester before her high school graduation, and they had officially become an item on her 18th birthday. He was a year older than she was, and was about to start his sophomore year in college, while she entered her freshman year. She had had silly crushes before, but nothing like what she had with Adam. He was handsome with short, dark brown hair, green eyes, and a winning smile. Not to mention, he was charming, funny, and he actually wasn't afraid of her father like the two boys she'd briefly dated before had been. He was her first real love. Bra smiled as she looked down at the pictures of them together, before glancing at the engagement ring on her left hand.

They were in love, and her parents were just going to have to accept it.

* * *

"I don't know how I let you talk me into that bullshit," Vegeta growled, his arms angrily crossed over his chest.

"Oh come on. It was fun! You know you had a good time," Bulma teased him while she lowered her hover jet in front of their home.

"Hn. The food was decent, but that music will give me nightmares for weeks. And the damn media showed up and ruined it all."

"Honestly, Vegeta. Can we _ever_ have one nice, romantic night out without you whining and pouting?"

The prince looked deeply offended by this. "For your information, I do not _pout_ ," he snarled. "I just do not appreciate being bombarded by humans when I'm supposed to be having a quiet meal with my wife."

"Yeah, well, I don't appreciate it either. Especially since people think you're more likely to be my son than my husband," Bulma grumbled as she turned off her hover jet.

Vegeta rolled his eyes as he inwardly groaned. His wife had been growing more self-conscious lately over her aging. It was true that he looked like he'd barely aged a year since Bulma had invited him to stay at her home decades ago, but he didn't care about his appearance. Or hers. She had aged, yes, but she was still beautiful to him.

"Stop with that nonsense, woman. None of that matters to me," he informed her, making sure they made eye contact so she believed him. He smirked a little. "And if our daughter wasn't watching us through the window, I would prove it to you right now."

Bulma gave him a small smile, before looking past him towards their home. "Bra's here? I thought she was going out with Adam tonight?"

"Perhaps that girl has finally come to her senses," the prince said in annoyance, following Bulma's line of sight.

"Vegeta, don't start," his wife warned.

"That boy's a manipulative liar," Vegeta growled, getting angrier the more he thought about it. "He lies right to her face. The other night that he was here for dinner, she asked him if they could attend some musical performance this weekend, and he said he couldn't because he had to work extra shifts. It was obvious by his pupils and his mannerisms that he was blatantly lying. I don't trust a man who would lie to my daughter's face right in front of me. What the hell does he say or do to her when you and I aren't there?"

"Sweetheart, you're being paranoid," Bulma chuckled, taking his hand gently in hers. "I think you just make the kid a little nervous, that's all."

"I know the difference between deception and fear," he defensively countered, finally looking back at her. "Besides, why are you defending him? You don't like the moron either."

"Well, Adam is a little lazy with school," Bulma relented. "But he makes her happy. Even you can't deny that."

Vegeta said nothing for a few seconds, before opening the door to exit the hover jet. He walked around and waited for Bulma to do the same, and then let her walk ahead of him while he followed her inside.

"Hi Mom! Hi Dad!" Bra brightly greeted them from the living room before Vegeta had even closed the door behind them. The prince immediately gave his daughter a suspicious look.

"Well, someone's in a good mood," Bulma laughed, hanging up her coat in the closet.

"What the hell happened to Arthur?" Vegeta mockingly asked.

Bra's blue eyes darkened with anger, her good mood dampened. "His name is Adam, Dad."

He scoffed with indifference. "Whatever."

"No, not whatever. You need to get his name right."

"Alright guys," Bulma cut in, warning in her tone. "Cool it, both of you."

Vegeta exhaled through his nose, before looking back at his teenaged daughter. Truth be told, part of the reason he resented her boyfriend was because the young man hogged up almost every free minute his daughter had. He hardly ever got to see her anymore, and it seemed like every time he did, she was less like the little girl that had so adored him, and more grown and independent. Soon she would be off to college, and he would see her even less.

The prince would never admit it, but he wasn't looking forward to that day. So he figured he might as well take advantage of tonight while he had it.

"Fine," he relented, looking away as he removed his shoes by the door. "What happened to Adam tonight? You're usually with him Friday nights. He didn't die, did he? I couldn't be so fortunate."

"He said he had to work an extra shift tonight," Bra answered, missing the way her father rolled his eyes in disbelief at her answer. The beautiful teenager looked down at her hands for a moment. She studied her palms, gathering her thoughts, and then slowly stood up and faced her parents.

"Mom. Dad," she started, immediately getting the attention of her parents. Bra took a determined breath, unconsciously straightening her spine and squaring her shoulders. "I have something very important to tell you both."

Bulma and Vegeta exchanged a look, and without words, deduced that the other had no clue as to what to expect. They both then looked back at their daughter expectantly.

"Honey, is everything okay?" Bulma asked worriedly. "You're not acting like yourself."

"Everything is fine. Everything is great, actually," Bra said with a bright smile. She was rubbing her hands together, strategically covering her ring finger on her left hand with her right hand. "This is _good_ news, okay? So don't freak out."

"Why would we, if it's indeed good news?" Vegeta pressed.

Bra anxiously rubbed her hands together, looking her parents over. She had no idea how this was going to go, and wanted so badly to just back out of telling them. If she just married Adam in a quick ceremony, her parents would be forced to accept it. Telling them beforehand was a bad idea, but Trunks' words kept her standing there. She wasn't a coward. She wasn't afraid of her parents, nor was she a little baby anymore. She was a grown woman now, an adult legally, and could do as she pleased. Rubbing her engagement ring a little for good luck, she finally cleared her throat.

"I'm in love with Adam. And he's in love with me. We've decided to get married."

Silence. Bulma blinked a few times, stunned. Vegeta's eyes lowered knowingly to his daughter's hands while a muscle in his jaw started to rhythmically flex. Bra released a deep breath, already knowing what that meant, and so she started speaking so fast, her words were practically rushing over themselves.

"Look, I know you guys both probably think I'm too young, and I completely understand, but it's _real._ I know it's real, and-"

"Bra," Bulma finally interrupted, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? You're only eighteen years old, you haven't even started college yet!"

"I know, but I _love_ him, Mom," Bra insisted. "He's the right guy for me, I know he is. We'll make it work-"

"Enough," Vegeta roughly cut in. "You're not getting married, not now, and certainly not to _him_. So give him back that piece of shit ring, and tell him that you're done with him. End of discussion."

"I will _not_ ," Bra fiercely shot back right as Vegeta had been turning away. The prince froze, and when he looked back at her, Bra saw real anger brewing in his dark eyes. It was almost enough to make her back down, but the young half Saiyan hadn't been brought up to be a coward. She stood her ground, looking her father in the eye. "I am going to marry Adam, and I don't care what you have to say about it, Dad!"

Bulma barely caught a grip of Vegeta's arm, but he yanked free easily. In just a few quick, long strides, he was practically in his daughter's face.

" _What_ did you just say to me, girl?" Vegeta growled, daring her to repeat her words.

To her credit, Bra didn't flinch. She lifted her chin a little, and her voice was unwavering as she replied, "I'm eighteen years old now, Dad. You can't tell me what to do-"

"I can and I fucking WILL tell you what you can and cannot do! I'm your FATHER and I say that you're not marrying that fool, and that is FINAL!" Vegeta shouted, ignoring Bulma trying in vain to calm him down.

"What are you going to do? Keep me locked up in my room forever?" Bra shouted back at him. "This is MY life and I can choose who the hell I want to be with! I'm not a little baby anymore, Dad!"

"Guys, calm down-" Bulma tried cutting in, to no avail as her husband shouted over her.

"You don't even know him! He's a miserable, manipulative, lying son of a bitch-!"

"No, YOU don't know him! You've never even talked to him for more than five minutes!"

"I know ENOUGH about him, and you are NOT going to marry him! You are going to start college like a normal female of your age, and you will live your youth without throwing your life away for some idiot who doesn't deserve you-!"

"What the hell do you even know about relationships at my age?" Bra challenged. "Mom's the only person you've ever even been in a real relationship with-!"

Bulma hauled Bra back by the arm, creating distance between father and daughter. "Bra, that is enough," she sternly told her daughter, before looking back at her husband. "Vegeta, calm down, this isn't helping. Now look. If you want to be with this boy, that's fine-"

"What-!" Vegeta furiously started, stopping when Bulma put a hand on his chest.

"She can _date_ him. You can keep dating him, Bra. But marriage is out of the question. You're too young, and your life hasn't even started-"

"I'm marrying him," Bra stubbornly interrupted, looking her father in the eye. "And you guys can't stop me-"

"Like hell I can't," Vegeta growled.

"Well, that's just great, isn't it?" Bra snidely commented, crossing her arms over her chest. "I guess since you were miserable at my age, that's what you want for me too, since you damn sure don't want me to be happy!"

There was a flash of emotion in Vegeta's eyes, something Bra couldn't place. Regardless, she immediately regretted her words when he broke their eye contact, and then turned around and walked away.

"Bra Briefs, _enough_!" Bulma chastised her teenaged daughter in exasperation. "No one is trying to make you miserable! We're just trying to stop you from rushing into marriage with the first boy you've ever been in a serious relationship with-!"

"It's fine. Let her go."

Bra and Bulma both looked back at Vegeta in shock. He was standing by the door, holding it open. Bulma gave him a look that was crossed between bewilderment and disbelief, but he only locked eyes with his daughter.

"You think you know so goddamned much," Vegeta stated, intimidating Bra more with this calm approach than he had when he had been shouting practically in her face. The teenager glanced at her mother warily, before looking back at her father. "You think you're grown, just because the law says you're an adult now? Then go. Go find this boy that you feel so strongly for, and go marry him. You have such a plethora of _knowledge_ and _experience_ , after all. I'm sure you know what you're doing."

"Dad, it's not that I know everything," Bra tried to reason with him. "It's just that I believe me and Adam will work out. I believe in us. We can be happy together-"

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" Vegeta sneered.

His tone was cold, and for no reason Bra could place, she suddenly felt like crying. She had been prepared for Vegeta to fight tooth and nail against her getting married, but now he was acting like he didn't care at all anymore. Like she could go marry her boyfriend and never come back home, and he wouldn't give a damn. It should have been a victory, but his demeanor was painful, especially when she wasn't used to dealing with it.

"Vegeta, what-?" Bulma started in confusion. She turned back to her daughter and firmly said, "You aren't going anywhere, young lady! Your father's always giving in to what you want, but I refuse to-"

"Woman. Let her go. She wants to act like an adult, then she should be treated like one."

"Fine," Bra forced herself to say. "Then I'll go. Maybe I'll even marry him tonight."

"Go ahead," her father challenged, daring her with his eyes to do as she said. Bra pursed her lips, and then strode towards the door, barely grabbing her keys on the way out. Vegeta promptly slammed the door closed behind her, venting some of his frustration that way. Once she finally processed what the hell just happened, Bulma stalked right up to him.

"Vegeta, what the hell is wrong with you?" Bulma demanded, furiously pointing towards the door. "You go after that girl right now and bring her back here!"

Vegeta stayed silent, and when he heard his daughter's Mercedes tear out of her garage, he looked back at his wife. "What would you have me do? Chain her in her room? Accompany her every second of every day while she's in college, to make sure she didn't marry that fool?"

"Um, YES?" Bulma sighed, throwing her hands up into the air in frustration. "Now would have been the BEST time for you to pull out your overprotective father card! I _can't believe_ you told her to go with him. She could marry Adam tonight for all you know!"

"I could have stopped her," Vegeta admitted with a nod. "But then the girl would have always resented me for it. That boy isn't good for her, and she has to see that for herself. She has to learn on her own."

"Well, while you gamble that our thick-headed daughter will suddenly see the light, even though she's been dating this boy for months, _I_ am going to call every reverend, priest, minister, and cheap drive through wedding location in this city. I don't give a damn how much it costs, I'm going to make sure none of them marry those two," Bulma announced, spinning away and marching off to do just that.

When he was finally alone, Vegeta leaned back against the door. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, half tempted to do as his wife asked and go retrieve his only daughter. But the girl was stubborn, just like he had once been. He had always tried to protect her from harm, but that's not what she wanted or needed from him anymore. What his daughter now needed was to experience things for herself, without his shield.

It was a gamble, just like Bulma had said. Now all he could do was hope it didn't blow up in his face.

* * *

Bra's heart was pounding as she drove across town to Adam's apartment. She kept glancing in her rearview mirror, as though expecting her father to suddenly show up at any second to stop her. Surely, he wouldn't actually allow her to marry her boyfriend. Would he? The young heiress was well aware that her father was a master strategist, and she couldn't help but fret over this new, unexpected approach. Thousands of scenarios on how tonight could transpire had crossed her mind, but this had not been one of them. Instead of being pleased, she was on edge and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Scowling, the teenager rummaged through her purse on the passenger seat, grateful she had left it in her car. Bra found her cell phone, and dialed her boyfriend's number. Getting his voicemail, she hung up in frustration. It didn't matter if he was at work. She knew where he kept his spare key – he would just wait for him at his apartment.

Fifteen minutes later, Bra finally left a voicemail as she wedged the key from where he usually hid it in his mailbox. "Hey, it's me. So I told my parents about us getting married tonight, and I thought they'd totally freak out, you know? But my dad…I don't know. We argued and then he finally said to do what I want, but I don't know, it's got me weirded out, I guess. I don't want to go back home, so I'm just going to wait for you at your place, okay? See you later. I love you," she finished, walking up the steps to his apartment.

Bra brushed her bangs out of her face, and began dialing Trunks' number. If anyone could figure out her parents, it was Trunks. He would know what to make of Vegeta's reaction, and he would know what moves Bulma might make now. Her mother wasn't going to let this go, even if her father did. She cradled her phone between her cheek and shoulder while she inserted the key into Adam's apartment, but she paused before she turned it.

Bra pulled her phone back and hung up, putting the phone back in her purse. She tilted her head in curiosity, hearing voices coming from her boyfriend's apartment. They were all male, and she recognized a few of them as being Adam's classmates. There was a round of laughter, before she heard Adam's voice. Bra frowned, wondering what he was doing home when he said he had to work. As much as she would have loved to think he left early for her, she had just left him a voicemail announcing her arrival moments ago, so that was impossible.

She shrugged, and was going to enter anyways, when her name suddenly came up in conversation.

"Marrying into the Briefs family!" one of his friends exclaimed loudly. "You know what THAT means."

"Yeah, that he's marrying into money and is gonna be loaded!" another friend laughed. "Guess you won't have to worry about paying for college now, huh?"

"I won't have to worry about paying for anything for a long time," Adam smugly said. "This girl's family practically bleeds money, man. They also have a ton of cars that are just sitting there, some that her mom actually built from scratch. I could probably get one if I bought the girl enough flowers. Bra's such a sucker for that kind of thing, it's hilarious."

"I _knew_ I should've made a move first. Now you got the girl, and you got the money."

"And it's not like she's not nice to look at, either. You're a lucky bastard."

"Yeah, she's pretty and all, but looking only goes so far, know what I mean? Good thing she's got money, or I would've probably bailed already. At least now, I'll be set for college, and then we can go our own ways. You know my dad couldn't afford to help me with all these damn loans-"

"Well, it looks like you and your dad will have to figure something else out now," Bra angrily interrupted, drawing the attention of all the boys. They had all been sitting around Adam's dining room table, engrossed in a game of poker. Adam in particular got up quickly, heading over to his girlfriend.

"Babe, why didn't you tell me you were coming over?"

"I called, you didn't answer," she evenly answered, looking at him with barely controlled anger and more than a little hurt in her blue eyes. "Guess you were too busy gossiping with your friends about how you're going to use your stupid, rich girlfriend, huh?"

"It's not like that!" Adam argued, dropping his voice a little as he moved closer to her. "We were just talking shit, you know how the guys are. I didn't mean any of that, you know how I feel about you-"

"I like being lied to about as much as I like being used, Adam," Bra snapped, pulling off her engagement ring. She roughly shoved it into his chest, not bothering to check back her superhuman strength. Adam gasped from the hard impact and took a few staggering steps back, his eyes widening in surprise. Bra rolled her eyes in disgust at his weakness, before spinning on her heel and marching back out, slamming the door closed behind her and breaking part of it in the process. She held her head high as she went back downstairs and got back into her car, ignoring him yelling for her to come back. Several moments later, and she was tearing out of there in her Mercedes.

It was only when his apartment was out of sight that the tears began to flow.

* * *

Vegeta was reclining on the balcony of his bedroom, sitting balanced on the rail with his back against the wall. It was late, and with each minute that passed, he was wishing he'd stuck to his guns and forced his daughter to stay home. Sure, she would've been beyond pissed at him, but did it really matter? At least she wouldn't be making a mistake, rushing into a marriage with a man he didn't approve of. The only reason he hadn't already gone after her was because Bulma had succeeded in bribing everyone in West City (along with every neighboring city) to deny marrying the couple. Unless Bra and her future husband drove for hours on end, they weren't getting married that night.

He lost track of how long he sat there, pondering how he was supposed to handle this long after Bulma had already called it a night. The prince tiredly rubbed at his eyes hours later, and was about to go inside and call it a night when he picked up on his daughter's energy nearby. He looked up, and then frowned when he realized she must have been hiding her ki. There was no other way she could have just suddenly appeared in the compound without him noticing her approach. Vegeta sat there for a while longer, before slowly getting down and heading back inside.

Bra brushed at her eyes in frustration, staring miserably at her reflection in the mirror. Her perfect makeup was smeared, and she splashed some cold water on her face, trying to rub it off. On the sink counter, her cell phone vibrated as Adam called again. She hesitated momentarily, but her pride won out as she reached over and shut it off. Bra then went back into her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed. Hugging her pillow, she willed sleep to come, but the only thing that came were more tears. She couldn't help it. She was completely heartbroken for the first time in her life.

The teenager was so distressed, that she never noticed her father softly opening the door to her room. Vegeta was silently shrugging on a button down shirt he used to sleep with as he poked his head in. The prince scowled when he heard her quietly sobbing against her pillow. It didn't matter that his daughter was practically a grown woman now. Hearing her crying made him feel as bad now as it had when she was five years old.

He knocked lightly on the door, alerting her to his presence. Bra spun around and quickly sat up, brushing self-consciously at her tears. She looked over at Vegeta with reddened eyes.

"I didn't go through with it, so don't worry," she shakily informed him. "You were right. Adam's a liar, and he was more interested in my trust fund than he was in me. So yeah, you were right. You win."

With that, she laid back down in defeat, rolling onto her side and hugging her pillow again. Vegeta awkwardly remained at the door, not sure what to do. Part of him wanted to go wake up Bulma so she could talk to the girl. But part of him felt guilty, as though this was his fault. Clearly, she had met up with her boyfriend and things had gone badly. If he would have kept her here, she wouldn't be as miserable as she was now. And so he lingered.

"I wasn't trying to _win_ , Bra," Vegeta finally said. She remained silent. "Contrary to what you think of me, I'm not that much of an asshole that I would want my only daughter to be miserable."

Guilt overwhelmed her as fresh tears stung her eyes. "I'm sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have said that to you-" Bra's voice broke as she started to cry again. She couldn't hide how devastated she was, and she stopped trying.

It took moments before she noticed that there was a comforting hand on her back. Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw that Vegeta was sitting next to her, looking at her with the same concern that made her adore him so much when she was little. Their relationship had definitely changed once she had started dating, but at the end of the day, Vegeta was always there.

The prince's eyes widened in surprise when Bra moved so she was sitting next to him and then hugged him tightly. Vegeta sighed and hugged her back with one arm, while she sobbed miserably against his chest. It was his experience now with both his daughter and his wife that when there were tears and hugging, pulling away only made things exponentially worse. Returning the embrace and staying silent until the woman in question got it together was the route to go. It took a long time now, but he was patient.

"I broke up with him," Bra finally sniffed against his chest some time later.

Vegeta grunted in approval. "Good. Told you he was a liar."

Bra froze against him, and finally pulled away. She searched his eyes thoughtfully. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Only that he lied to you often. I can tell these things. I've always been able to."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He scowled. "I did once. You didn't believe me."

Bra brushed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. I just, thought that he loved me, you know?"

"Well, I figured if I was right, you would eventually figure it out. I just didn't think it would happen in one night."

"That's why you let me go," Bra realized. Vegeta said nothing as he simply looked at her, which she took as an affirmation. The teenager nearly laughed. "And here I thought you just didn't care."

"You're my daughter. I'll always care."

Bra smiled at him, before leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Thank you, Daddy."

"Hn." Vegeta hesitated a second, before raising an eyebrow in interest. "So…can I kill the fool now?"

Bra laughed, wiping away the remnants of her tears. "It's fine. Well, I think I did bust his door a little bit."

"That's my girl," Vegeta proudly said, offering a slight smile before he stood up. "Get some rest. Talk to your mother about the agonizing emotional details tomorrow. And don't you dare shed more tears for that idiot tonight, you hear me?"

"Yeah. I think I'm all cried out anyways," Bra admitted, slowly laying down again. She still felt awful, and it would take a long time to finally get over her first real love, but she felt much better now after talking to her father. Crying so much for so long had taken a lot out of her though, and now she was exhausted. Vegeta was turning to leave, when she called out to him. "Dad?"

He stopped. "Hn?"

"Next time I start seeing someone, could you tell me if he's a good guy? Please?"

Vegeta turned back towards his daughter, his eyebrows drawing together rigidly as he looked her over. Unfortunately, Bra wasn't a little girl anymore. She was growing into a beautiful and intelligent woman, which he was pleased to have witnessed over the years. The downside though was that now men were going to be pursuing her more and more. As much as he hated it, the process was as natural as breathing. It also dawned on him that maybe tonight wouldn't have escalated as far as it did, if he had been more supportive of the process, no matter how ridiculous he found it. Then his daughter might have heeded his warning, instead of dismissing it altogether because she assumed he was just being an overprotective, paranoid father.

He finally sighed. "Bra, even the 'good ones' aren't guaranteed to be pristine angels."

"I know. But I'm asking for your help. You can weed a lot of these guys out. I'm not saying chase them all away either," Bra quickly corrected. "I'm just saying, I trust your intuition. I should've always trusted it."

"…Fine," Vegeta surrendered. Even now, he still had a hard time saying no to his daughter when her eyes were reddened from crying. He averted his eyes as he grumbled, "I'll let you know when a man is somewhat decent. Doesn't mean I have to like him though, so don't get any ideas."

Satisfied with his answer, Bra smiled a little and turned away. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight."

Vegeta left, flicking off the light in her bedroom on his way out. He took in a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. He had decided earlier that evening that his daughter needed to learn a thing or two the hard way, and things had certainly gone that route. But he promised himself that it didn't have to go down that way again. Next time his daughter announced an engagement, she would get the happy ending she wanted.

He would do his part to make sure of it.


End file.
